CNOOC buys part of oil field in Niger Delta

ACQUISITION The firm announced the purchase of a 45 percent stake in an oil field in Nigeria, and will use its own cash reserves to fund the deal

AP , BEIJING

Chinese state-controlled oil company CNOOC Ltd (中國海洋石油) said it is paying US$2.3 billion for a 45 percent stake in a Nigerian oil field -- its first major investment since last year's failed bid to take over Unocal Corp.

The deal adds to a multibillion-dollar string of foreign acquisitions by Chinese oil companies, which are aggressively pursuing energy supplies to fuel the country's booming economy.

The agreement, which needs approval from the Nigerian and Chinese governments, covers part of the oil-rich Niger Delta region, CNOOC said.

The company said the area includes the Akpo oil field discovered in 2000, and three other "significant discoveries."

India turns away

Another contender for the field was India's biggest oil company, state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp, which submitted a winning US$2 billion bid last month. But India's Cabinet blocked the deal, saying that it wasn't commercially viable.

The Nigeria deal serves CNOOC's desire to grow "through the exploration and development of offshore fields and achieving geographic diversification of the company's portfolio," company chairman Fu Chengyu (傅成玉) said in a written statement.

Hong Kong-based CNOOC said it would pay for the deal from its own cash reserves.

The firm didn't say if oil from the Nigerian field would be exported to China or sold elsewhere.